The Lost Cat
by The StrayXIII
Summary: AU: Cat is a lone bounty hunter, sweeper by her terms, that puts the beat down on her targets without the use of a gun... until the family she left behind is in danger and her only aid is a secretive man who bears resemblance to the one and only Black Cat


** The Lost Cat**

* * *

**Hey... This was a little something I did for English... It's AU so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Black Cat! ... But technically it remains a franchize in here... **

* * *

_A law was finally passed in Canada: the creation of the Bounty Hunter's Guild was a go. The unofficial sign up was at thirteen to sixteen. That way those giving information could get a little bit of the action. Those at the age of sixteen and above were official; part-time if one was still a student. These laws seemed dangerous at first, involving the lives of such youths. All in all it's for the sake of the country—and the world. The Prime Minister had finally admitted that the country was being used as a refuge for terrorists and criminals. To make sure laws weren't too harsh on immigrants and tourists, bounty hunting was allowed. Hunters had to pass an exam from the guild when applying. For either category (official/unofficial), it didn't matter. The way one hunted his target didn't matter as well… all that mattered was the one code of conduct: _

The lives of people before the bounty: **either criminal or innocent. ****Thou Shall Not Kill.**

…

_Who would have known that a petty criminal would have five hundred on his head…_thought Cat on one _wonderful_ afternoon as she bolted after a man named Richard Evington. The petty thief was charged big time for dealing information to a few terrorists still unknown to the public. All is known is that the amount of stuff he knows was not trusted with him.

"Get away from me, you crazy chick!" he yelled back at Cat. She smiled, humming happily to show her joy in this wonderful escapade. Rich ran head first into a crowd of people in the park. Cat saw him push aside a man trying to treat his dog for doing a trick right. Cat ran up to the man.

"May I borrow your snacks for a moment?" she asked. The man seemed reluctant, but upon recognizing her face after one good look he reconsidered.

"Sure thing, Hero," he said, "I would be happy to participate. Sammy too… and you don't have to pay us back," he said patting his German Sheppard's head. The dog panted, seemingly wanting to have a bite.

"You want some boy?" Cat asked. The dog panted a great deal, saliva flying from its hanging tongue. Cat saw Rich a few metres away, apparently a bunch of kids—unofficial Guild members to boot!—were stalling him. Cat waved the box and put it in front of Sammy, "THEN COME GET!" She ran of with the box, the dog running after her, apparently its owner let go instinctively the minute Cat toyed with it. Cat took her chance and threw the box at the thief. Rich got caught off guard. The box hit him and the kids pushed him down. Sammy the dog starting growling at Rich, as though saying, "You stole my snacks!" Cat looked down at Rich, squatting down to preventing him from looking up her pleated, black denim skirt.

"Who are you?" he asked, fearing the angry Sheppard.

"The name's Cat," replied Cat, "And I'm a sweeper."

"A _what?"_

"If you want to use _your_ terms," said Cat, her left eye twitching slightly due to the annoyance from Rich, "I'm a bounty hunter, Rich… consider yourself…" Cat smiled deviously, "_swept._" The crowd whooped behind her. A few of the unofficial members patted her back saying they were proud to work alongside her. One of them approached her. He was holding a graphic novel with the cover opening up from right to left. Cat recognized it immediately.

"You're the coolest, Cat," said the boy, "You're just like Train Heartnet from _Black Cat_. Just like him. Not everyone knows about you before you became a sweeper, but everyone knows you stick to the code: our promise. Just like the real thing…" He muttered. He smiled and walked away. Cat smiled, but the expression only lingered.

_Almost,_ she thought as she hand-cuffed Rich and led him away.

"_The same feat occurred again today as one of Toronto's own heroic bounty hunters, Cat, has accomplished in capturing and imprisoning the criminal Richard Evington: A thief known for trafficking information to terrorists deep within the city's growing Underground."_ The newswoman announced on the six o'clock news. There was a slight thud in the room as a young man with multi-toned brown hair in a messy, carefree way laid down a milk bottle.

"Cat, huh?" he said to himself. He laughed to himself as he took another sip of milk. This slight movement made a small jingling sound. The young man tilted his head back, drinking his final gulp, the bell collar on his neck ringing to the movement. The bottle was drained and the young man smiled. "It seems there's a new stray cat in town…"

Anna seemed very happy Cat has become so popular. She was a woman only three years older than Cat, In charge of the number of check-ins made by the bounty hunters and the targets they brought in. Anna was a cute blonde haired woman with green eyes. She made the atmosphere in the atrium light and happy with her constant chatter.

"The guy was easy, really," said Cat, trying to emphasize enough modesty in her voice. Cat was busy fishing into her pockets for any extra change. She fished out a loonie and two quarters, and slipped the coins into the vending machine. Cat chose her usual order: a bottle of chocolate milk.

"It's a wonder you can hit hard," said Anna. Cat turned to face her as she took her free hand and brushed it through the sweep of hair over her right eye.

"What's a wonder?" asked Cat.

"The amount of milk you drink. The intake of calcium must strengthen your bones a lot. That powers the durability of your bones when you kick and punch," answered Anna. Cat flexed her free arm as she took a sip of her mil. Anna laughed. Cat caught Anna's eye surveying her. Cat gave her a questioning look. On cue, Anna sighed and smiled.

"Is you hair naturally that colour?" she asked. Cat laughed as she smacked her lips.

"We've gone through this before," said Cat automatically, "It's natural." Anna raised a brow.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she pointed out, "dark brown hair that glows kind of reddish in the light. That's awesome." Cat shrugged. She walked over to the bounty notice. Her dark topaz eyes scanned the mounds of posts put on it.

"You should go for the next level," said Anna after a moment of silence. Cat looked at Anna with an intense stare. Cat took a while to consider. A door opened as she thought things through. Subconsciously she noticed a man named Tate walk in a posting up a new notice.

"New post, Anna and this one's a big one," Tate called over to his work-mate. He turned to Cat and waved before joining Anna behind the desk. Cat looked at the new notice:

Wanted: Derrick Reed

For Thievery Involving Relentless Murder

**Reward: $500 000.00**

Cat's eyes widened. This was her next target. She ripped off the notice and turned to leave.

"You think you can handle it?" called out Anna. Cat looked back and smiled.

"Don't need to worry. This cat's still got nine lives," she said with a cheeky smile. She threw the empty milk bottle into the recycling bin and walked right out. Anna looked at Tate.

"With that attitude, we ought to get her a kitty collar," Tate said as a joke.

"I see _him_ in her a lot these days," said Anna quietly. Tate looked at her, surprised.

"You mean—?" he stared at Anna as she nodded her head.

"Might as well face it, Tate," she said with confidence, "the amount of stray cats on the streets is going to double this year." Anna returned to typing out the latest check-in by Cat.

"And for a good reason," added Tate.

He saw the girl finally enter a café. He knew for sure that Reed was at large and was needed behind bars. The young man kept an eye on the girl from where he stood: across the street on a bench. He spied the girl had taken a seat at a computer. As expected, she Googled Reed. The young man then conveniently spotted that the café was full of members from a minority gang. He stood up and crossed the street. As if on cue the gang began to gather the girl's attention. She kept an expressionless face. Further more, the gang took out guns and kept the innocent citizens inside the café still and silent. There was a guard at the door. A couple nearly entered the door, but tried to run away. The guard had noticed them and dragged them in. The young man kept an expressionless gaze himself, nearing the door. With every step he felt his gaze intensify, knowing that when the guard locked eyes with him, the guard would be immobilized and rendered speechless. The young man reached the door…

Cat backed up and felt her chair ram with the back of her waist. This guy was smart to bring his gang with him. They were armed as well. Cat's only escape was to surrender, just to follow the code. Maybe if she were far enough she could take them… unfortunately for her they were still armed. The door to the café suddenly swung, the unmistakable sound of the bell ringing for a new customer.

_Some sucker's walked in to a bad situation,_ thought Cat. The gang leader smiled, knowing another victim could die by Cat's fault. Suddenly more jingling was heard. The gang leader became annoyed, just as he was about to strike Cat.

"Core, how many people are freaking comin' in here?" asked the leader. The guard did not answer. Instead a young man with messy, multi-toned brown hair answered. Cat noticed he had now appeared behind the leader. There was a click and the gang leader froze.

"Just this one," said the young man with a confident and calm voice. The young man's hair was spiked in several directions. His bangs covered his eyes, but there was a smirk on his face. At last he lifted up his head and Cat met eye-to-eye her saviour. It was as though her eyes were nearly reflected. The young man had beautiful topaz eyes, practically shining like gold. He pressed the semi-automatic pistol right between the gang leader's eyes when he had slowly turned around.

"This Little Neko asked nicely for you all to leave her alone," said the young man.

_Little "Neko"… That means cat in Japanese… most often used term for anime-lovers…_ thought Cat. She caught the gang leader backing up toward her. The young man forcing the criminal back gazed at Cat. Now was her chance. She gave a swift kick to the gang leader's thighs. He buckled and at the same time his men moved into action.

The young man moved in. He had no apparent fighting stance, but Cat saw he was experienced. This one guy… Up against all these people? Cat thought it impossible. Just then a gangster pulled out a small knife and hacked at the young man. The young man moved aside and only his sleeve got cut. Cat now saw that the young man did not fire his gun. When a gangster tried to fire, the young man attacked him. He was intent on not having anyone hurt. What was most amusing—and probably the most embarrassing failure for the gang—was the soft, jingling sound coming from the young man with every movement made. The customers moved away, which made it easy for the young man. Cat eventually joined in, attacking any gangster trying to get up. Finally, the fray ended.

"Took longer then I expected," said the young man as thought he had done this before.

"_Longer?_It took twenty minutes!" complained Cat. She clicked her tongue and sighed heavily, "Now I only have five minutes left on the computer." The young man looked at the screen Cat had opened up. Police sirens were eventually heard a short distance away. Cat felt a tap on her shoulder and found the young man getting her attention.

:"With what you're searching, you would need less than five minutes," he said pointing at the screen. Cat read the article she had opened before the fight had broken out.

"_'The latest priceless addition to the Royal Ontario Museum is the Drifter's Medallion: a medallion embedded with a teardrop shaped topaz gem,'"_ finished Cat, "So that's what he's after."The young man suddenly logged her off and pulled her out of the café. Cat looked at him, "Who are you?" At that moment the young man unbuttoned the top three buttons on his blouse, pulling his collar to show more of his upper chest. Right then and there Cat's question had been answered.

"I guess you could call me Train," he said, "whatever fits."

"Fits?" started Cat. She pointed at the left side of his chest, "You've got a tattoo of the number thirteen in Roman numerals! Your hair makes you look like a sea urchin… which is one of the popular names for—your eyes…YOU EVEN HAVE A RED CLOTHED BELL CHOKER!" Train apparently waited for a break in Cat's rant because he handed her the pistol he used to scare the now unconscious gang leader.

"A sweeper should always carry a weapon, at best: a gun. That's mandatory, especially if you chase after idiots with more than one grand of cash on their head. You familiar with how to use it?" he asked Cat. She shook her head. "I'll teach you then, including fighting moves so you won't freeze up when your gun is away from you… but first—LET'S EAT!" Cat saw this coming, but the effectiveness of Train's action and expression made it completely surprising. One other note was that he used the term "sweeper" like her instead of "bounty hunter".

"Train… I know that's not your _real_ name…" said Cat as they walked off, Train leading the way, "but I know it fits. You're just like the _Black Cat_ come to life."

"Huh?" Train uttered as he looked back, "Well—as you said—whatever fits." He smiled and the two went off.

Unknown to the two was someone, a man, watching from a distance. He kept in the shadows of an alleyway. He wore a trench coat; a dagger hidden in it, and kept his blonde hair slightly gelled back. He chuckled deviously as he watched Train and Cat walk away—especially Train. The man looked behind him at the dead men he had just killed. They were guards to the ROM. Now everything was set, but seeing Train was the cherry on top to this wonderful escapade. The man walked away, dropping a sheet of paper behind. A picture of the Drifter's Medallion was on it. Written across the image was the words written in blood: Must Steal!

"The Black Cat's come out to play!" the man laughed off into the distance.

Cat finally took a break from her practice. Her muscles ached after a severe beat down from Train. Being his apprentice was tough, knowing that with his skills it would take her years to match up against him. Not only that, he was always in top form. Strangely enough for Cat, Train only used her gun to show her the drills, never his own. Did he even own one? Train finally came back from the trip to the food restaurant. He held a greasy bag of burgers and a paper tray holding two bottles of mile: one chocolate, the other regular.

"At least I don't have to tell you to drink your milk, Little Neko," Train said with a smile. The two had bonded, thus leading him to giving her the nickname. Even when Cat urged up the sense to tell him her real name, he continued calling her "Little Neko". He somehow sensed the true reason why she lived on the streets as a bounty hunter. Cat took a bite of her burger before Train spoke again, "Are you trying to capture Reed?" Cat nodded, but observed the way he delivered the question. His facial expression was robbed of the easy-going smile. Cat thought about it, _Derrick Reed… Reed… Strange… a name like this would end up fusing together when said. When it does that… it sounds like Reed is… CREED…_

"Train, don't tell me that you're relationship with him is like that of Creed Diskenth and Train Heartnet from the series?" Cat said, shocked and surprise. How much more ironic could this get?

"Almost… Reed and I were friends in high school, up to the point of graduation. He went bad and wanted me to join him. I did for a bit, but pulled out when my sister told me to. He killed her when he found out…" Train trailed off. Almost like in the series, except Train _Heartnet_ was told by a friend: a female sweeper. This Train had a sister who got caught in crossfire all because she got worried.

"When was this?" asked Cat.

"It's the reason why the Guild was formed. Reed was the terrorist who went too far. Kara's death convinced the Prime Minister," Train said. Cat immediately stopped pressing for more, keeping the urge to learn what happened afterward bottled up inside.

"I'm sorry I asked," was all she could muster. Train patted her head.

"It wasn't your fault, you were curious," pointed out Train. Cat was relieved. Of course, whether he was the fictional Train or himself, they were both understanding people.

"Would you let me go after Reed?" asked Cat. Train put the usual confident smile on his face.

"Only if you let me help," he held out a hand and Cat took it. They shook hands on the deal.

"Rich Evington, you have a couple of visitors," said the guard as he brought Rich into the visitors' room. Rich sat down on the chair in front of the glass. He looked up after staring dismally at the handcuffs on his wrist. He was shocked to find the smiling faces of Cat and a young man with her.

"Hello again, Rich," said Cat the moment she took a seat on her side of the glass with the phone. Rich scrambled with the phone on his end, but finally held it right onto his ear. The young man behind Cat stood patient, waiting for something.

"Wh-what do _you_ want?" asked Rich nervously.

"Just a little seminar," said the young man. Rich eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" asked Rich.

"Information," started Cat, "on Derrick Reed."

It was official. The girl, going by the name of Cat, brought Train to resurface. Reed was exited, knowing that his preparations were complete. There was a muffled cry, and Reed bent down to meet the captives eye to eye.

"Don't worry, little girl, you're big sister will come and get you," said Reed with as much sickly malice in his voice he could muster. Capturing Cat's family… was certainly going to make things interesting for Reed.

An officer came bursting into the visitors' room. A whole lot of the law reinforcement officials came to see what Cat and Train were up to. Rich, with his usual stupidity, had tried denying any information to Cat and Train. He even insulted Cat along the way.

"FOR THE LAST TIME!" yelled Train. He had managed to kick the glass between him and Rich to pieces. He held Rich by the collar close to his face. The police in the vicinity had come as a respond to the ruckus, but not to restrain it, but for their amusement. Cat herself was laughing with the reaction Train had on his face, "QUIT TOYING AROUND WITH US! YOU'RE REALLY GETTING ON MY NERVES!" Rich began to sweat nervously, Cat understanding that Train's power against the glass intimidated him.

"I'm not saying anything," stammered Rich. He was focused on keeping his head above hot water.

"S-sir!" said the officer who had come in. The commissioner had entered, not minding the scene. He seemed to be used to Train's reaction.

"You have something to say, Stevens?" said the commissioner to the officer. The officer gulped and nodded.

"A young girl was reported missing around three o'clock today. Her friends were meant to meet up with her at that time, but she did not show. Her house was called, but no one answered. We tried contacting her parents, but they have been reported missing too," he reported. Train immediately ceased pressing Rich. He let go of the collar. Cat felt his gaze on her. She knew he sensed her curiosity in the situation.

"Who is the kidnapper?" asked the commissioner, preparing himself to go investigate. A young girl came bursting in wearing a school uniform. She was crying.

"Commissioner!" she cried, "I found this in Sandra's locker!" She held up a sealed envelope. The side with the seal faced the ceiling. The commissioner took it and flipped it onto the other side.

"Train, Cat," said the commissioner. Cat jumped, not upon hearing her name, but upon discovering the commissioner himself called Train. Cat looked at Train, expecting the same reaction. Instead Train had an expressionless face. Did Train and the commissioner meet before? The commissioner turned to them and showed them the addressed side of the envelope. It read: Stray Cats Only! Train understood it meant him and Cat. He took it and opened it.

"It's from Reed," he said. The entire room gasped, "He wants _us_to go to him… and, Cat, he's got… you're family." Cat's eyes widened with fear. The very thing she had been dreading had come to life. Reed was someone she never expected to be.

The abandoned factory was far out of town. It took five hours to get there, the moon already high up in the sky. Train and Cat drove there without the assistance of the police, but they were on their way. Train had given them a receiver that only worked when the other end was put through a certain amount of pressure. Cat did not understand what it meant, but she knew that the police would only come in when Train signalled them.

"What are we going to do?" asked Cat. She was scared, fearing what Reed had done to her family.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Train so calmly, but a smile was not upon his face.

"Train, I don't know…" started Cat. She held onto her arm with the other and looked away from Train. "I don't think I can do it."

"Don't think… know," Train told her, trying any way to boost her confidence. He took her hand and walked her into the factory. Laughter welcomed them from deep within. Cat gulped heavily. She began to shake as her fear grew stronger. Train tightened his hold on her hand.

"No need to be afraid, hold no doubt against your own self," said Train. This phrase hit Cat with an epiphany. For the first time within the five hours of hearing the news, Cat smiled. At last they reached the center of the factory. Reed came out of the shadows to greet them.

"Two stray cats wandering through a dark factory," started Reed. He pulled out a small remote and pushed a button. A spot light shone onto Cat's gagged family. She felt rage boil up inside her. Her mother and father were beaten, her little sister scared and crying.

"I'm not going to say 'let them go', Reed," Cat said with confidence. She relaxed her grip on Train's hand, signalling him to let go. He does so as she walked closer to the murderous thief. She stopped just a few feet from him, "instead I'm going to clear things up.

"I'm going to tell you the reason why I am not with my family right now; the reason why I decided to take on the stray cat life. This reason will be the realization of your mistake." Cat briefly stopped to let in Reed's maniacal laughter.

"Me make a mistake? Please!" he jeered, "You're the reason why their caught. You decided to come after me and I had to stop you. That medallion is mine, I tell you! I WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET IT, NO MATTER WHO'S IN MY WAY!" He pulled out his dagger and took a ready stance. There was a bullet shot, hitting against the metal of the sword. Cat held her gun up to her opposite shoulder.

"Shut up, old man, I'm not done yet," she said coldly, "My family does not deserve this treatment. I left because I felt I caused them grief. I discovered I was a very independent person, and everyone I knew agreed. I am an independent person with a unique touch to it… but I was also lazy and stubborn, doing things for myself." Cat licked her dry lips, her voice growing dark. She began to pace around, the hero taking the turn to monologue.

"I moved out of the house and lived in the shelter. I managed to complete school while getting a part time job. A bit of a surprising feat, if you ask me since I never expected to graduate properly while living on the streets. This was a hard life for me, but I realised that if I was going to live life with this kind of poor attitude, I had to let _myself_ take the consequence, not my friends and family.

"And so, Mr Reed, I give you this chance," said Cat as she stared at her gun. She stopped talking and cocked the hammer of her pistol back, "To let go of them, if you wish to get through this with sanity." Reed and Cat began their fight. As expected, Reed was competent. Putting her all and knowledge into this fight, Cat inwardly decided to bring Reed down, even if it killed her. She was not as good as Train yet, but she needed to save her family.

Whenever Reed was far from Cat, she fired her gun, sparing her bullets to save time for replacing her magazine. As Reed pulled away, giving Cat a few cuts on the arms and one on the face, he swung his dagger rapidly. He hit a chain and a loud clang was heard. With threatening speed a large set of heavy crates in chains came falling from the black, endless ceiling, right above Cat's family. Eyes widening Cat bolted toward them, while Reed made his was to the exit. She knew he was going to taunt her about making a choice, but that would give her a chance to think. This was a smart move.

The crates landed and Sandra's gag had fallen off in the action. She cried out as she faced her big sister's bloody face, her arm and head just sticking out of the mess. Cat's body was crushed and she saw her blurred family's faces, crying with fear of losing her.

"It's okay, guys… you would be happier without me," she weakly said. She heard Reed's laughter. The blow of the crates had terribly hurt her, judging by the fact that just moving her eyes was too much.

"Everyone would be happier with you dead!" called out Reed. Cat lifted her head up a little bit, tucking her arm under her cheek. She could now see Reed. He had the controller in his hand. Was it a bomb? Suddenly there was a bullet fired, completely obliterating the controller in Reed's hand. Reed was shocked to find Train going against him. Cat's eyes widened as much as they could in shock. Just to see better, she had to squint since her glasses fell off when the crates fell on her, just to see. She found her vision cleared: Sandra had freed herself and placed Cat's glasses over her eyes. Cat now saw the gun that Train was holding. It was not her pistol which she had, buried within the crates and rubble… it was an exact replica of the ornate black revolver _Hades_ with which the fictional Train was famous for. The beautiful finishing touch was the number thirteen in roman numerals etched on the side.

"I made a mistake last time, Reed. I shouldn't have let you get away," said Train softly. Reed turned his attention to him.

"So you should have _killed_ your own _friend?_" asked Reed with a large touch of insanity. He spat as he spoke, and insane look in his eyes: a lust of blood.

"No…" said Train, "Jumped in between you, you're sword and Kara's heart. Just like what Little Neko did." Train took one step and fished out a small black controller. He crushed it in his hand and it began blinking red. He dropped the device and switched his gun hand to his left. He charged at Reed with a lot of force and speed, striking Reed four times across the chest.

_The_Black Claw _attack! I didn't think it would be physically possible to do,_ Cat wondered as she watched Reed collapse after Train's attack. Train rushed over to her as her father began removing the crates off of her. The police arrived and came to aid Train. Cat weakly looked into Train's eyes. His eyes were full of worry as he hurriedly removed the crates on her body. At last, she was free of the weight. Train pulled her up for her family to surround her. She smiled and a tear fell from her eye. She soon saw darkness, but not because she was unconscious, but because she fell asleep. She realised that for the first time, she slept with a large weight removed from on top of her after many years.

Eight months had passed and Cat had made a perfect recovery. She sat by the café's large window, drinking her hot chocolate during a cold January day in Alberta. Train sat down in front of her with their food.

"Where do you think our next target is?" asked Cat.

"There might be a chance that the guy might have jumped ship and crossed another border," answered Train as he grabbed his spoon and fork.

"There could be a chance that he would be in the States," said Cat.

"Yeah, and it's a good thing the Prime Minister's gotten the airports to check for a Sweeper's—ah—I mean Bounty Hunter's licence if we were to carry guns with us," said Train.

"Hah, even when we use hybrid airsoft guns," said Cat. That reminded her of when she woke up in the hospital eight months ago. The Head of the Guild, Cat's boss, had come marching in and pointing at Train.

_"You gave her a _gun!_" he shouted. Train just sat relaxing on his chair next to Cat, drinking his bottled milk. The chair was teetering on its hind legs, and Train had his left arm slung over the back. He rested his right leg on the edge of Cat's bed. _Hades_ was placed neatly in its holster on Train's thigh._

_"Would you relax, Chief, it's a hybrid. It doesn't shoot real bullets, and it's and airsoft type—the automatic electric type. It looks very real, as you can see, but it's completely harmless. The shell casings you found in the factory are just casings for the pellets," said Train before the Head got to retort. There was movement behind the Head as Sandra came in with her parents._

_"Are you doing okay?" asked Sandra. She had learned from Train that Cat wanted her name a secret. Cat nodded quietly. But then her attention returned to her boss and Train. Train's attitude toward the commissioner and the Head were as though he had met them before. It was when Anna and Tate arrived that cleared things up._

_"Train!" cried Anna as she ran up to hug him. Train choked on his milk as the chair slipped off of its hind legs. Anna laughed and redirected her hug to Cat instead._

_"That's it," Cat said with a bit of annoyance. She glared at Train with comical anger, "You need to explain to me how these people know you!" Train got up and began padding off the excess milk on his clothes._

_"If you want it in your anime fan terms, Cat," said Tate, "Train here is the Guild's stray _Black Cat_."_

There was a tapping and Cat found Train looking at her and tapping her mug with his spoon.

"Hello, Earth to Cat! What's on you're mind?" he asked.

"Oh nothing…" covered Cat as she drank from her mug.

"It's never nothing… Little Neko, are you sure you're family is okay with you staying with me?" asked Train.

"We've gone through this before, and it really doesn't matter now. I'm eighteen now so I can travel with you _and_ I already told you: you're the one person I believed that would change me for the better. I was a lost stray that aimlessly wandered the streets, doing whatever I could to survive. You changed my beliefs and made me happy," Cat said. She drank again from her hot chocolate.

"Could you really be happy? I mean you can live with you're family again! You're missing out on a lot!" said Train as he shoved a heaping spoon full of food into his mouth. Cat smiled.

"A loss is a loss, Train, and I'll keep in touch. I loved the way you told them I was a stray cat and that we always came back," said Cat. She drank up the rest of her milk.

"Little Neko," started Train. He wiped his mouth on a napkin before continuing. Cat set down her mug as she listened, "what was it that I said that got you to live with me?"

"You told me to hold now doubt against myself. I vowed to myself long ago that if I ever met anyone who would tell me that personally, I had to stick with them. I knew that when Anna recognised you, you would come back to sweeping. I guess I just had to live with you, knowing your typical targets migrated across the globe. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. My family needs the money we get, and I'm willing to risk my life to give them happiness."

"With that new attitude, Little Neko," Train said with a smile. He pulled out a small black leather box and opened it. Inside was a bell choker similar to his, but the band was white, the bell silver, He held it out to Cat, "it would seem as if you never had a loss at all."


End file.
